Columbus > State College, PA

January 20th – 21st

Indiana vs Penn State – Men’s Basketball – ESPN

Travelled midday on Wednesday – since I was going to the worst state in the country, my mood wasn’t the best.

Flying into State College is always a gamble. You never know if you are gonna land in one piece or not!

The aircraft is almost always a prop plane. Which makes me nervous where ever I am going.

And the overhead bin space is about 7 inches tall. I have to pretty much take everything out of my backpack in order to get in in.





It’s a very small airport – the plane pretty much taxis right up to the building.

The weather was pretty crappy. It wasn’t snowing though!

It’s been a few years since I have been here – so I drove around for a little while.

Beaver Stadium

Nittany Lion Statue on campus

Many years ago, while working a football game here, my friends Tim &  Brandy were in town for the game. We had a wild night on the town – and we stumbled around for hours looking for this damn cat! So every time I am back, I am always sure to visit him.





Tim & Brandy are old friends from when I lived in Orlando. They lived in the apartment below me. The have since lived all over the country and have 3 beautiful children.

Downtown State College is actually pretty cool; lots of places to drink, eat & interesting little shops. I have stayed at the Days Inn – which is GREAT location if you want to be in the heart of it all. I literally had drunk students passed out under my window when I stayed there.

Probably my favorite place is the Nittany Lion Inn. It’s very old and quaint. Right in the middle of campus.

This time we were at a Hilton Garden Inn… which is easily one of my favorite hotel flavors. But the location of this one sucked.

I got settled in and spent the afternoon catching up on email. So nice to have an afternoon/evening to myself!

I ordered room service and had a quiet night.

Thursday morning I hit the gym and then on to work.

Jason and I went to lunch at Chipotle and then sat at Starbucks for awhile. Always nice to have an actual lunch break.

The game went really good!

Friday morning I headed back to the airport for my next adventure!

Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day!

My Florida Squirrels

My Ohio Squirrels

My Cookie Squirrels

Columbus

Northwestern vs Ohio State – Men’s Basketball – Big Ten Network

It’s great to be working at home for once, however, it seems like I just get started on something and it’s time to go to work.

Buckeyes win 76-56

Columbus

St. Louis vs Columbus – NHL - Visitor Feed

I got nothin….

Columbus

Indiana vs Ohio State – Women’s Basketball – Big Ten Network

Kinda nice to have several days of work at home!

Buckeyes won 81-64

Columbus

Wisconsin vs Ohio State – Men’s Basketball – Big Ten Network

Buckeyes won 60-51

West Lafayette, IN > Ann Arbor, MI > Columbus, OH

January 13th – 15th
Showcase Thursday Presented by T Rowe Price – Indiana vs Michigan – Conference Tip-Off Week – ESPN 2 – 9et

Wednesday morning I needed to drive from West Lafayette to Ann Arbor. Dumb me, thought it was a 3 hour drive. Figured that was easier that driving an hour plus back to Indy and catching a flight to Detroit, then driving to Ann Arbor.

Well, I was wrong. It’s a 5 hour drive. Nothing I could do about it now. Set out mid-morning. It was a beautiful day actually! Most all the snow had melted from the roads, thankfully, since it was mostly country roads thru Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan.

As I approached one town in Michigan, I had the feeling that I had been there before. Hmmm….

Wait - I’ve been at that hotel before… I stayed there in July of 2007 with mom & dad while we attended a family reunion in a town nearby.







I arrived in Ann Arbor in late afternoon. Got settled. Still feeling crappy with all the snot.

Decided to just eat dinner at the hotel – even though it was a Sheraton 4 Points.

Fatal error.

Dinner sucked beyond belief!

The side ceasar had rusty lettuce.

I just wanted a “Nicole salad” – someday I will be home long enough to make one again.

When I asked the server, “Is the meat on the French Dip lean?” He said, “I don’t know what the means.”
Not a good sign.

Thursday’s game was good. I really enjoy working with this crew!

On Friday morning I met up with an old friend for breakfast. We went to Zingerman’s.

Zingerman’s is a deli that is absolutely delish! Very expensive – but worth it once in a while!





After spending a few hours catching up, I hit the road. Had about 3 hours ahead of me. And the Michigan to Columbus drive is quite possibly one of my least favorites.

A welcome sign….  (in more ways than one!)

Columbus > West Lafayette, IN

January 11th – 12th


Super Tuesday Presented by KFC - Ohio State vs Purdue – Conference Tip-Off Week – ESPN 2 – 7et

I only mention all the sponsorship because sometimes it’s funny. It’s rarely ever “just a game” anymore.

Monday morning I went to see my doctor cause I have had some sniffles I can’t kick.

Sure enough, he said I wasn’t sick – just allergy overload. Nothing he could do.

Made the drive to West Lafayette. Didn’t I just do this?

We were at the Homewood Suites…
It’s ok in the sense that its basically a one bedroom apartment with a kitchen. But bad on the little nice-ities of a full service hotel.

Because I was at the end of a hallway, I had almost no internet signal. Agh!!!

(However once I called to complain on Tuesday morning, the maintenance person right up to move the wired modem from the living room to the bedroom so I could watch my slingbox at night)

I didn’t sleep at al well. Realized at some point in the night it was because I had taken MucinexD. The “D” keeps me awake.

Tuesday was good. Had lunch with team graphics at Panera – which is always high on my list.

After the game, I headed to Bruno’s for drinks and dough balls with Heather & Erin.

We arrived at 10:02pm. They closed at 10. But since there were still lots of people inside Heather started banging on the door. She was able to talk them into letting us in.

Bruno’s is Coach Keady’s post game hangout and of course he was there with a group of friends.



Dough balls are one of the signature items… a piece of dough that is deep fried, brushed with garlic butter and then sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Pretty good, but sinful!

Once we got back to the hotel, there was no parking. Grr!

We had to park in the front and walk – which is a lot like parking in the front of an apartment complex and walking all the way to the furthest building – which sucked in the sub-zero temps and icy sidewalks.

Nose is still running!

Columbus, GA > Columbus, OH

Dallas vs Columbus – NHL – CBJ Vision

Got up a little after 4am. Ugh. Never fun no matter how early you go to bed.

Arrived at the airport 1 hour before flight. Ha!

It’s so small, they don’t open security until it’s time to board your flight.

So it gave me time to have a breakfast sandwich from the greasy spoon at the airport…. Which was actually pretty good!

Got to Columbus around 11am. Went home to regroup and then went to work.

We celebrated Andy’s birthday.

Jackets defeated the Stars 2-0

Auburn, AL

South Carolina vs Auburn Men’s Basketball – SEC Network

Worked with one of my favorite APs today – Rich. He lives in Charlotte and does racing most the year, so it’s rare that I get to work with him.

This is the last season that the Tigers will play in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.

After the game, I headed back to Columbus, GA to a Doubletree near the airport. I have a crack-o-dawn flight tomorrow morning!

Columbus > Auburn, AL

Flew from Columbus to Columbus!

Well… Columbus, OH to Atlanta to Columbus, GA.
(It’s the closest airport to Auburn, AL)

It’s about a 45 minute drive from Columbus, GA to Auburn, AL.

Found the hotel and then ventured into downtown Auburn. I have never been to the campus before, so I wanted to check it out. Plus, I was on a mission to find some Toomer’s Lemonade for a work friend of Dave’s. The friend, Eric, is a graduate of Auburn he said I had to have some Toomer’s Lemonade.

So, that’s what I did!

It’s an old fashioned soda & ice cream shop that sells fresh lemonade and endless Auburn products.

The lemonade was delish!

And they had plastic bottles of it to go, so I bought a few bottles to take back to Columbus as a surprise for Eric.

I then checked out campus….

After getting settled in the hotel, I walked next door to the Italian place.

It was average – but the garlic rolls were AMAZING!





Afterwards I went back and went to bed.

West Lafayette, IN > Columbus

Indiana vs Ohio State Men’s Basketball – Big Ten Network

Got up early this morning and made the drive back to Columbus.

Ugh – so freaking boring!

Tonight’s game was a biggie since Evan Turner made his return only a month after breaking two bones in his back. He was expected to be out until at least February.

Buckeyes win 79-54

West Lafayette, IN

Minnestoa vs Purdue Men’s Basketball – ESPN

Nothing really to report.

I am tired.

West Lafayette, IN

Notre Dame vs Purdue Women’s Basketball – ESPN 2

Even though I had a (very) mini-vaca in Cancun last week, I am exhausted! Yesterday’s travel did me in!

The climate is slightly different from Cancun as well.

Cancun > Houston > Indianapolis > West Lafayette

When I got back to the hotel around 11pm last night, I made another attempt to straighten out my bill. No success.

I then booked a cab to pick me up at 5am. My flight was not until 9, however, we had been told to get there 3-4 hours early do to it being the end of a holiday weekend AND because of the idiot who had just tried to blow up his underwear on an international flight into Detroit.

Anyway – even after I made the reservation thru the concierge, the cab company called me back to confirm.

By the time I got packed and into bed – I only got to sleep a couple hours.

I get down to the concierge.. no cab.

I waited a few minutes and have him call…. Yah ALLEGEGLY there was an accident and the cabbie was stuck in Sunday 5am rush hour traffic and would be there in 30 mins.

Nope!

The concierge got me a cab immediately.

Arrived at the airport only about 10 minutes “behind” schedule.

OMG the line was insane! Literally several hundred people in front of me. I knew, there was no way I would make it to the front of the line – even though I still had 2 hours.

So I rolled the dice. The airline was Continental. I don’t have ‘status’ with them, however, they are part of the Star Alliance. I am Premiere on United – which is part of the Star Alliance. However, Premier is like Level 1 of 4 levels of the Star Alliance. The “special” line was for Premiere Exec and up… (ie: level 2-4)

Knowing I would never make it with the “commoners” I went for the speedy pass. Played stupid and thought the special line was for ALL Star Alliance passengers.

I stood in that line for about 45 mins…. When it was my turn, I killed the ticket agent with kindness and random conversation, never really answering her when asked what my specific status was in the Star Alliance.

Bam! It worked!!

Made it thru security with n hassles and on over to my gate. Hmm… delayed.

So I decided to have some breakfast and do some souvenir shopping. Headed back to the gate – delayed even more.

This was not looking good. My flight was to Houston and then onto Chicago. I have a game in West Lafayette, IN tomorrow and I couldn’t get a flight from Cancun to Indy (closest airport) – so I chose Chicago – it’s an hour or so further.

It was looking like I was going to miss my connection. Mainly because in Houston, I would have to go thru immigration, then get my luggage and then go thru customs and then re-check my bag.

I needed to get online so I could research other options. The airport was a Boingo Hotspot – however, the website was in Spanish. So I was having a hard time logging into my account and charging another session. I had to ask a shop keeper for help.

Once online, I discovered my options were VERY limited. So I called emergency travel since sometimes they can “see” seats on flights that I can not.

Again – not many options. It looked like the only thing I could do was fly from Houston to Detroit and then to Indy.

So I just hoped for the best!

After landing in Houston, I jogged to immigration, got thru there, then on to get my luggage. Wait, wait, wait… on to customs. Then when it was time to re-check my luggage, I asked the agent if I was going to make my flight since it was already boarding. He said, “No. There’s no way you will get to that terminal in under 10 minutes when the plane doors will close”.

So I stepped out of line and called emergency travel.

Asked for them to book the Houston > Detroit > Indianapolis option we spoke about earlier in the day. Sure, no problem, the seats were held for me, however, the person who could authorize the charges was not answering his phone. So I had to wait. And wait. And wait.

I dragged all my luggage the mile or so to the other terminal and ticket counter. Called emergency travel again. Nope the person had yet to call back. And the travel agent even said to me, “Ya know, he hasn’t returned any calls today. You are not the only stranded person for the network”

AGHHHH!!! The last possible flight was leaving in less than 1 hour!

So I called the “Crewer On Call” and explained that if she didn’t do something to get the charges approved, I was not going to make the game at Purdue tomorrow.

About 15 minutes later she called back and had everything taken care of.

Thankfully, there was still time to check my bag and make it thru security!

Later that night, I finally arrived in Indianapolis (after connecting in Detroit).

After getting my luggage and heading up the escalator to the rental car facility, I lost control of my luggage and it went bouncing down the steps!

I then discovered that when the emergency travel agent cancelled my ticket from Houston to Chicago, they forgot re-book my rental car pick up from Chicago to Indy.

One more hassle. One more charge to my personal credit card.

Made it up to West Lafayette late Sunday night. Ugh – what a day!

Cancun

Stopped by the front desk today to once again to see if we could work out the issues with my bill. They pretend to not understand – but I know very well they understand English. Because when you ask them ANYTHING else, there are no translation issues.

Basically, they are putting the room on my personal credit card. When in reality, only incidentals are to go on my card (ie: things I charge, such as drinks, internet, food). It’s not the end of the world, I just know it’s going to be a pain to expense since the bill is in pesos and it going to take longer to deal with after the fact.

I eventually gave up due to frustration. I again found myself in a circular argument as I previously had about the clouds covering the sun, not the sun setting in the west.

Headed over to site mid-morning.

Still impressed with the venue. So much nicer than I ever imagined!

Today the rest of team graphics was on site. Our slider op and bug op.

Due to the size of the truck – they had to be outboarded to the “B” Unit. We said that jokingly because it was a cargo truck that one would associate with Mexico… but more of one that crosses the border into Texas in the middle of the dark night.

Thankfully, there was an air conditioner!








Now lets take a tour of “The Best Truck In Mexico”

Audio

Tape/Video

Space for my feet

There was this 2x4 that was there and I couldn’t put my feet straight – had to put them at an angle. On top of the 2x4 was a platform of sorts that the actual mainframe of the Duet sat on. If I put my feet on the platform, I would run the risk of kicking my external hard drive and unplugging it – which I did a few times.






At dinner time, the AP, Slider Op and I went to a Mexican fast food joint….

I tried, I really did. I ordered whatever the hell the chicken specialty was... couldn’t do it.

Instead I ate chips and salsa. As well as what equates to a quesadilla with just a taco shell and cheese.



The game got on the air. Mission accomplished!


There were several things that were wrong… but for the most part, only us TV geeks knew. The viewers at home… had no clue.

Granted, this was just one game. Can a tournament be done in these conditions in December? Well, probably. Would it meet the quality standards. No!

But hopefully, from the reports from myself and others on this ‘test’ – it can be done with some basic gear being flown in and set up in office trailers. Something that has been done by the network in other countries. And fortunately, something I have been a part of several times now. So hopefully, our suggestions will help make the tournament a success!

Believe me… I have spared you all the details. So much of what took place would seem menial to you, yet earth shattering to us. But we tend to do that…. Outthink what the viewer actually sees, understands and expects.

And don’t take that the wrong way – I am not insulting you, the viewer, I am insulting us – the broadcasters.

Even though the conditions were primitive, I am so thankful I was given this assignment. I enjoy these types of challenges! And it’s always nice to know your opinion is valued.

Cancun

Happy New Year!

Got up early again for breakfast so I could sit at the pool for a bit before work.

Checked out the progress of the beach project

This time, I actually walked down to the beach. Ugh. I am not a fan. Ya know with the sand, salt water and all.

View from beach looking at resort




Afew more hours of sun… I think I may officially be burnt!

I headed over to the arena in the afternoon with the AP.

It was actually MUCH better than anyone expected!

The truck on the otherhand….

It’s the “best truck in Mexico” !







The parking spots were interesting though… you had to get your tires lined up with these cement strips.

It’s evident that there was not going to be a surprise visit by any of the network safety inspectors….

The steps into our office trailer








Another of my personal favorites was the cable running thru the cesspool.

I believe that was our power.






The smell… was overwhelming!
That water had been there for a LONG time.

And allegedly, a co-worker of mine saw some of the locals peeing behind the truck in the other “lake”.

The producer, director and AD were from ESPN International in Bristol. The Ops Producer, AP, slider op and I were hired by the Charlotte office. Everyone else was local.

The condition of the truck did not come close to network standards. But this is the best truck in the country – so it will have to do.

Why not bring down a truck from the states?

It has been done. However, it’s not an easy task or cheap one!

Networks that have brought their trucks into Mexico have run into tons of delays getting thru customs. It also involves a lot of “tipping” to the officials. Nothing illegal is being brought across the border – it’s just a matter of the border personnel knowing that the truck and it’s contents are precious cargo en route to a production that a network is counting on to air. If it doesn’t air, millions of advertising dollars are lost. So the customs agents and border patrol feel the need to be given money, lots of money, or they don’t let the truck enter.

Even once it does get into the country, it gets pulled over for various reasons and then the police expect to be ‘tipped’ as well.

The alternative is sending a truck over on a ship. Possible, but very expensive. Again, still have to deal with customs.

So… the theory this weekend is to make do with what we have!

The graphics bench is lacking many of the basic essentials. Monitors for starters. A headset panel. A place to put my feet. Plus the bench seat is way too low. The counter that my keyboard is sitting on is chest high – not waist high. All things that we can solve with a little improvising!

Communications are going to be difficult. We do not have nearly the amount of channels we are accustomed to. Let alone enough headsets. It’s determined that the usual 2 channels for the graphics department is now going to be 1. And I don’t get a headset. My AP will just have to repeat to me whatever the stats person says.

There is also software missing from the Duet. But I can manage without it. Not convenient, but possible.

Once the Duet was loaded and we worked out some of the kinks, we headed back to the hotel.

I chose to have room service tonight.

While on hold to place my order, the advertisement for tonight’s special said….
“LIVE A TREMEDOUS GASTRONOMIC EXPERIENCE”

I think something got lost in translation there… because whatever their special was, I didn’t want it!

I did order sangria though – come on – sangria in Mexico has to be awesome, right?!

Oh dear God – it was so terrible! I couldn’t drink it!